A Qualitative Exploration of South African Women’s Psychological and Emotional Experiences of Infertility
Open accessAbstract
Despite the high prevalence of infertility in Africa, the study of reproductive health in Africa, has for the most part, not addressed the impact of involuntary childlessness on women. In contrast, the health priority has been on fertility regulation rather than on infertility. In Sub-Saharan Africa, at least 20% - 50% of couples of reproductive age experience a fertility problem and 30% are diagnosed with infertility. This study explored a sample of South Africa women’s psychological and emotional experiences of infertility or involuntary childlessness. Utilising a qualitative methodology, 21 married women who were diagnosed with infertility were recruited. Semi-structured, indepth individual interviews were conducted and the data were analysed using thematic analysis. The results of the study indicated that the women reported emotional turmoil characterised by emotions such as disappointment and shock, anger and frustration, a deep sense of sadness and then progressed to experience a sense of acknowledgement that a problem existed. Within each of these emotional phases the emotions of hope and optimism were present. The findings of this study suggest that severe psychological and emotional tug-of-war effects accompany infertility. Possible coping strategies for women struggling with infertility are discussed.
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Pedro and Andipatin reported women's tendency to blame themselves for infertility.
“Pedro and Andipatin30 also reported on women’s tendency to blame themselves for their infertility.”
From Infertility-related distress and clinical targets for psychotherapy: A qualitative study (2021) · cites this paper as [30]
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- Authors
- Pedro, A., & Andipatin, M.
- Affiliations
- University of the Western Cape (ZA)
- Corresponding author
- Pedro, Athena
- Venue
- Open Journal of Preventive Medicine
- Publisher
- Scientific Research Publishing, Inc.
- Published
- 2014
- Volume
- 04
- Issue
- 05
- Pages
- 327-337
- ISSN
- 2162-2477 (ISSN-L)
- 2162-2485
- OpenAlex
- W1968413942
- Cited by
- 15
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2019: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 0.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Locations
- Open Journal of Preventive Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Reproductive Health and Technologies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Keywords
- infertility, involuntary childlessness, women's psychological experience, emotional experience, coping strategies, South African women, married women, hope and optimism
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